Air-operated chuck.



L. M. WHiTE.

AIP. OPERA'IL'D CHUCK.

,WPLICATION n n M AY in, m

WITNESS/S8: ZJ

v ldldtl..

i LElE M. ITE, OlE DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

ain-creano entren.-

Specication of Letters lPateiit.

Application filed May 26,1915. Serial No. 30,650.

To all whom it may concern Be it kno n that l, LEE M. WHITE, a citizen of the nited States, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented certain new and usefull i Improvements in Air-Uperated Chucks; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference markedv thereon, which form a part of thisspecilication. r

This invention relates to chucks, especially'to' that class ofchucks adapted to be operated by air pressure, and consists in the novel construction and 'arrangement of parts as hereinafter set forth and claimed.v

rllhe'invention has for its object the provision ofa. simple and eflicient air operated chuck for use in connection with machine lathes and the like, which will enable the rapid chucking and handling of work of fragile character, such as tubes, nipples,

shells and other hollow vcylindrical parts,

subject to injury by the pressure of the gripping jaws of the chuck, and wherein the construction is such as to provide for the distribution and equalization of the pressure of the jaws upon the work so as to avoid injury thereto and insure the firm gripping and accurate centering of the work irrespective of variations in the diameter of the portions engaged by the chuck.

rllhe above object is attained by the eruployment of a novel construction and arrangement of thel gripping jaws and 'actuating means of the chuck, which briefly described comprises a plurality of radially movable jaws spaced apart in series and arranged to operate correlativelyin gripping the work so aS to support it at intervals cir-. vcumferent,ially and longitudinally." 'llzhe jaws of each series are actuated simultaneously by sliding contact with frusto-cnical bearing rings carried respectively by a reciprocal piston and a reciprocal cylinder.

containing the piston'. Airunder pressure is applied to act-nate the piston and .cylinder in opposite directions and thereby impart movement to the jaws 1n a manner to .equalize the pressure exerted on each series" and ed'ect a consequentl uniform d1stribu.y

tion of the crushing strain of the jaws upon the rworkbeing chucked.-

. secured at.

carryingspindle of a lathe, as on dotted line 2-2 of lFig. l.

Referring to the parts of the structure 'by the characters of reference marked on. the drawings, the numeral l designates a cylindrical' sleeve which has formed in one end an axial bore 2 of suitable depth and diameter to accommodate the work to be operated uponas indicated at a.' The opposite end of this sleeve is provided with an arial screw-threaded bore 3 .which receives the screw-threaded 4end of a lathe spindle d,

upon which said sleeve is securely mounted 4to rotate with said spindle, lt be uriderstood that the spindle d is journaled'in the usual way in suitable bearings upon a lathe and connectedlwith driving means by which it is rotated.

Extending axially through the spindle d and into the end of the sleeve l, is a shaft 5 having air passages 6 and 7 which entend therethrough and communicate respectively with' angular passages 8 'and 9 formed in the body of the sleeve l. The outer end of j the shaft 5 is adapted for revolvingconnection in the usual way with a sourceof air supply under pressure and with a controllingvalve by which the deliveryof the air for actuating thev chuck isycontrolled, as is the common practice in air operated chucks. v The sleeve 1 is provided with a plurality of gripping jaws arranged in two series, of preferably three jaws each., l0 and ll respectively yspaced longitudinally of the' `sleeve.I The jaws of each series are uni- \formly spaced at intervals circumferentially of thesleeve in which they are mounted to A slide radially in close tting guide-ways@ lltllll and 13 respectivelv formed through the wail of said sleeve. The opposed faces `of theY pairs of alinedl jaws of the two series are respectively, for the reception of f :orre:V spending ends of a leaf spring lt which is its .center by means of a provided with transverse slots ld and l5.,

screw t7 l to a rib 18 formed on the sleeve 1. Said springsare varranged to exert `an outward tension upon the jaws to normally 'retain their inner'ends flush with the wall of the 5 bore 2, and the outer' ends of the jaws of the two series are formed with extremities reverselylinclined to the axis of said sleeve. .Mounted concentrically on the sleeve l so as to slide axially thereon, is a piston head 1g 9 haring a laterally projecting annular hub or sleeve 20 on one side thereof, in theend of which a frusto-conical bearing ring or bushing 21 is rigidly-seated so as to embrace and coincide with the'correspondingly inclined extremities of the series of jaws 10. The opposite-side of the piston head 19 is provided with a screw-threaded counterbore 22 forming a beveled shoulder therein against which a ring of packing -material 23 is forced vbyzmeans of a beveled annular nut sleeve 1 concentrically, is a cylinder 25 hav-` lng an air'chamber 26 therein, inA which said piston is suitably fitted to form an air-tight working connection "with the cylinder wall,

A and whichy is closed at one end by a circular plate'27 recessed at it's marginal edge toreceive'thel cylinder wall to which it is secured by screws 28. Said plate is formed with a central aperture through which one end of the sleeve 1 extends and is provided similar to that described'for the pistion, to form an air-tight sliding joint ment upon the end of-the sleeve l to serve as a stop for engagement with the plate 27 f to limit vthe movement of the cylinder in one direction on said sleeve. The opposite 46 end ofthe cylinder 25 is formed with a con centric aperture which-slidably embraces'the sleeve 20 ofthe pistonand is provided with a packin g rlng 32 .and binding nut 33, similar to that described forthe piston, by which- I 60 an air-tight working" bearing is eiected be- 4.tween the parts to permit. of relative axial movement of said'piston and cylinder.

. el inner end .of the cylinder 25 is' extended to embrace' the outer end of the sleeve i ,'65 1 by means of a conical housing 3 4 having ,at Aitsbasea Bange .35, through which bolts 36 are passed and threaded into the cylinder wall tosecure said housing thereto. The reducedend of the housing 34 is rovided ino tenerli? with. a fixed frustocomcal bearing ring 3 which'sli'dably embraces the sleeve 1 4-at its forward end, and which also embraces upon its inner inclined face the corres ondwith a packing 1mg-29 and binding nut 30,

between the.

. l'cylinder end and said sleeve. An annular- 40 nut 31 is secured by screw-threaded engage- "will move saidl jaws radially under to that of the jaws 10 and the bearing ring 21 of the piston.

, A circular plate 38, having a central aperture registering with the bore 2 of the sleeve 1, is rigidly secured to the end of said sleeve by screws 89 threaded therein, andprojecting laterally from the inner face of said plate is a series of engaging pins 40 which extend freely into apertures 41 formed in the sleeve 1, and also. to said chamber upon the` opposite side of said piston through a ilexi- `ble tubular connection 43 suitably connected at one end to a passage 44 communicating with the passages 9 and 7 'through the body of said sleeve, and which is connected at its opposite end to aport 45 communicating with the chamber 26 through the inner wall of' said cylinder. The port 42 is so positionedras to maintain communication with the chamber 26 irrespective of the shifting of positions of the piston and cylinder axially of the sleeve, 'while the tubular connection 43 permits df the relative movement of the piston and cylinder and maintains communication with said Ychamber upon the `opposite side of said piston.

Anadjusting screw 46, which serves as a depth gage, is mounted in the end wall of vthe bore 2 so as to engage the end of the work a to be operated upon and limits its depth of entrance within said bore.

The parts being thus constructed and arranged, the operation of the chuck will be as follows: The work ais placed in position within'the bore 2 as shown in Fig. 2. Air

under pressure is then admitted, by means of the usual control valve, not shown, 4to the passages 6 and 8 and'through the port 42 to the chamber 26, wherein the pressure will bef exerted upon the piston and cylinder so as to impart axial movement thereto in 'opposite directions'. The movement of the piston in one'direction' through frictionalengage- 'ment'of its inclined bearing ring 21 'with the corresponding extremities of the jaws 10 a wedgingforce against the tension of the spring 16 and into. a irm'gripping contact upon the work-at their-inner ends. The movement of the cylinderinthe opposite direction-will ninnglywinclinedxextremities of the series of likewise-impart movementto the jaws 11 jaws llthfinclnatwnhf which 1s' vreversed through the wedgingjcontact of the inclined 13'0 niagara 'heag ring 37 'with the inclined extremities otsaid jaws in a manner to torce them into@`y i pping contact with the work under pressubstantially equal to that exerted upon n the jaws 10, that is where the degree of in jo ingly to increase or decrease the pressure on either of the series of jaws to accommodate work requiring more or less pressure at one pointthan at another.

'llhe work when locked bythe jaws, as

l shown in Fig. 2, will be retained in such po sition during the dwelll of the established connection ot the chamber 26 with the air pressure through the passage 6, and may be released by actuating the air controlled 2e valve, before referred to, so as to cut od the passage 6 and ait thecompressed air to the passages 7, 9 and lill,A and through the Hemble tubed and port l5 to the chamber 26, wherein the pressure will be delivered upon the opposite end of the piston and cylinder, causing them to recede in reverse directions and release their respective bearing rings from wedging engagment with the corresponding sets of jaws. The outward il@ tension of the springs 16 exerted on said jaws will retain them incontact with their respective rings and cause them to withdraw from engagement with the work which will then be released and may be removed from t5 the chuck. llt will be understood that the chuck may be constantly driven and that thel operations of chucking and releasing the work may be e'ected without necessitating the retarding or stopping of the chuck.

ll 'lhe invention is presented as including all such changes and modicatons as A come within the scope of the Jfollowing claims.

l claim: i

l. ln a chuck, the-combination of a spinl dle, a hollow sleeve Vsecured thereto, a plurality of chuck jaws spaced in adjacent series and mounted to move radially in said sleeve, a piston mounted to move axially on said sleeve and having a rusto-conical bearing '5w ring slidably engaging the jaws of one of said series, a cylinder embracing said piston and said sleeve mounted to slide axially thereon and carrying a rusto-conicalbear-- ing ring slidably engaging the jaws of the .55 other ot lsaid series, means for conducting a pressure medium to said cylinder to impart vaxial movement to said piston and said vcylinder in opposite directions and transmit inwar movement simultaneously to the jaws l@ oit both ot said series, and means for exerting a constant outward yielding tension on said A jaws. l

f 2. lin a chuck, the combination of a spindle, a hollow sleeve secured at one end theret5 to, a plurality oft chuck jaws spacedin acl-v' jacent series and mounted to move radially in said sleeve, a piston mounted to move axially on said sleeve and carrying a bearing ring inclined to theaxis of said sleeve and engaging the outer extremities of the jaws of one of said series, a cylinder embracing 'said piston and sleeve mounted to slide axially thereon and carrying a bearing ring inclined to the axis of said sleeve in opposed relation to the bearing ring of said piston and slidably engaging the jaws of the other of said series, means forl conducting a pressure medium to opposite ends of said cylinder to actuate said piston and Cylinder alternately in opposite directions respectively to impart inward movement simultaneously to ,the 'jaws of both of said seriesand to permit said jaws to move outwardly, and means carried by said sleeve for exerting a constant outward yielding tension on said jaws.

3. ln a chuck, the combination of a spindle, a hollow sleeve secured at one end thereto, a plurality of chuck jaws spacedin adjacent series and mounted to move radially in said sleeve said jaws having their outer extremities inclined to the axis of said sleeve in reverse direction with respect to said series, a piston mounted to move axially on said sleeve and carrying an inclined bearing ring corresponding to and slidably engaging the inclined extremities of the jaws of one of said series to move them inwardly with the movement of said piston in one direction, a cylinder embracing said piston and sleeve mounted to slide axially thereon and carrying a bearing ring correspondingly inclined to and slidably engaging the ,in-

clined extremities of the jaws of the other j spindle and sleeve for conveying a pressure medium to said cylinder to impart relative axial movement to said piston and cylinder in opposite directions, and means carried by said sleeve and engaging said jaws for exerting a constant outward ylelding tension thereon.y

4. In a chuck, the combination of a spindle, a hollow sleeve secured at one end thereto, a plurality of chuck jaws .spaced in adjacent series and mounted to move ra dially in said sleeve, -a piston mounted to move axiallyon `said sleeve and carrying a bearing ringinclined to the axis of said sleeve and engaging the extremities of the jaws of one of said series to move them in wardlv with the movement of said piston in one direction, a cylinder embracing said piston and sleeve mounted to slide axially thereon and carrying a bearing4 ring inclined to the axis of said sleeve in a reverse direction \to`the incline oi' the ring of said piston and slidably engaging the extremities of the jaws of the other of said series loo to move them inwardly the movement of said cylinder in one dlrection, means carried by said sleeve for limiting the movement of the cylinder thereon, means extend ing through said spindle and sleeve to establish independent communication with opposite ends of said cylinder for conveying a pressure medium thereto to impartrelative Y axial movement to said piston and cylinder,

jacent series and mounted to move radially means mounted on s aid sleeve and connect# ing opposed pairs of jaws of said series for exerting' a constant outward yielding tension thereon to retain said jaws in sliding contact with their respective bearing rings.

5. In a chuck; the combination-cfa spindle, a hollow sleeve secured at one end there'- to, a plurality of chuck jaws spaced in adin said sleeve, a piston mounted to move axially on said sleeve, thel outer extremities of the jaws of each series being oppositelyA inclined to the axis of said sleeve, a piston'- concentric with said sleeve -mounted to slide axial-ly thereon and carrying a bearing ring correspondingly inclined to the inclined. ex-

tremitiesof one of the series of jaws with which said ring engages to force said jaws inwardly with the movement of said piston in one direction, a cylinder concentrically embracing said piston and' sleeve to slide axially thereon' and carrying a bearing ring correspondinglyinclined to the inclined extremities of the other series of said jaws with whichl said ring slidably engages to force said jaws inwardly with the move- `f ment of said cylinder in the opposite direc- `tion to that of said piston, means carriedv impart radial movement simultaneously to the jaws of said series. e

In testimony whereof, I sign this speciiication in the presence of two witnesses.

. A LEE llL WHITE.

witnesses;

B. F. WHEELER, M. E. BnoEsAMLE. Y 

